Navarra wines have been winning praise and awards, and Javier Asencio Reserva 2000 is one of the reasons why. This Navarra, Spain red wine has 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. With 15 months of barrel aging, it has fine fruit of black berries, and a mature refined aroma of wood, tobacco, leather and cedar. The juicy structure has silky tannins. At our closeout price, there are no Navarra wines that compare. Drink now through 2010.

The ancient kingdom of Navarra, partly Basque, is nestled in the shadow of the Pyrenees to the north and east, and La Rioja to the west, with the main area around the `bull run town` of Pamplona. The region has made huge leaps in quality over recent years, producing exciting wines from a range of local and international grape varietals. Asensio Viñedos y Bodegas is run by the Sanz Asensio brothers. They founded this winery in 1994 with one goal: to develop quality wines. Settled in the subzone of the Ribera Alta, the owners grow around 70 hectares of vineyards. The plants are based on limestone and alluvial loams in the wilderness of Tierra Estella, Sesma. It is an arid zone where ripening grapes produce very low yields. Theirs is one of the wineries that produces the new wines from Navarra. From Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Tempranillo is harvest and aged in American oak. Their wines are known as dense and meaty, almost black in the glass with a fresh crisp fruit, heady nose, and a long reverberation. Javier Asensio has succeeded to make some of Navarra's top rated wines. The Guía Peñín has rewarded their wines in every single issue since 1999.

RATINGS: 90 Points - Penin Guide to Spanish Wines
Penin: Volume (2000!) "Intense cherry. Concentrated aromas of toast and black fruits, leather, pipe tobacco and cedar. On the palate, powerful, fleshy, full, ripe fruit. In the background, earthy and liquorice."

85 Points - Wine Enthusiast Magazine
"Like many Navarran blends, there’s some murky, flat aromas to this blend, but it shows more life in the mouth, where snappy red cherry and wild raspberry flavors take over. The finish is evenly textured and shows a bit of leftover oak resin."

5 STARS - Snooth Review

"One of the smoothest red wines that I've had lately, but keep in mind that a $2500.00 bottle of wine is out of my range. This bottle was very surprising. A very smooth red wine in a working stiff's price range."

Alcohol: 13.5%